600,000 Fugitives Unaccounted For

Teams assigned to make sure [that] foreigners ordered out of the United States actually leave are grappling with a backlog of more than 600,000 cases and cant accurately account for the fugitives whereabouts, according to the Homeland Security Departments inspector general, reports the Associated Press. Even though more than $204 million was allocated for 52 fugitive operations teams since 2003, a backlog of 623,292 cases existed as of August of 2006, the report said. The number of illegal immigrants in the United States has been estimated at between 11.5 million and 12 million. About 5.4 percent of them are believed to be fugitive aliens, those who have failed to leave the country after being ordered out. [View article] [View DHS report]